(Staff writer, with CAN Taipei Times)Five Taiwanese universities have made it into this year’s Times Higher Education’s list of the world’s top 150 universities under 50 years old.

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology ranked 43rd and National Yang-Ming University ranked 96th, while Chang Gung University, National Sun Yat-sen University and Yuan Ze University were given rankings below 101.

According to the list, Taiwan has the highest number of young world-class institutions among all Asian nations.

However, despite having a relatively high number of universities on this year’s list, Taiwan did not have many schools high up in the ranking, Times Higher Education rankings editor Phil Baty said.

Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea had universities in the top 10, Baty said, adding that Taiwan needs to invest more in higher education.

Although 50 years is young in university years, “half of the universities in the top 10 are 30 years or under — in nations investing heavily in creating world-class institutions, such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore,” he said.

Among the 39 countries and regions featured on the list, the UK had the highest number of world-class young institutions with 25, followed by Australia with 19.

"As the pendulum swings, the traditionally dominant US and UK will have to raise their games to continue to compete in future years,” Baty said.

Universities are ranked according to five factors, including research, teaching, transfer of knowledge and international activity.

Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, founded in 1969, took the top spot for the second year running, with East Asian institutions dominating the top five.

In second place was Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Founded 25 years ago, the university made it to the top of the ranking in Asia for the first time.

The others in the top five were Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Netherlands’ Maastricht University and South Korea’s Pohang University of Science and Technology.

Rounding out the top 10 were Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; University of Konstanz and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, both in Germany; France’s Pierre and Marie Curie University; and Italy’s Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.